Windows Server Preview Provides Clues About Windows 8.1 (Screenshots)

Microsoft released Windows Server (“Blue”) to MSDN subscribers today, ahead of the BUILD (#bldwin) conference later this week in San Francisco. The build provides us a number of clues as to what we will see in the official Windows 8.1 (Blue) preview. The server build number is 9341, the windows 8.1 preview build will be: 6.3.9431.winmain_bluemp.130615-1214. IE11 scores 351/500 + 2 bonus point, and 25/25 for WebGL. Since this is a server build, the score may be a little higher than IE11 on Win 8.1, but this confirms WebGL for IE11. Many things seen in the Server 2012 R2 preview will also show up in the Windows 8.1 preview.

Most of this information comes via Robert McLaws, a MSDN subscriber and .NET developer:

Desktop w/ new start button

Libraries are now hidden by default and more integrated into the UI. If you want them displayed as before, right-click in the blank space

Start Menu/Taskbar Options; Includes options to shut down from Start button and disable hot corners:

New Hyper-V, device redirection is called “Enhanced Session Mode

IE 11 option to add a website to your Apps list

New options for how IE 11 behaves when you open it: New session or previous session

New IE11 option to enable “Flip ahead with page prediction

IE11 allow you to turn off the SmartScreen filter right in the download UI

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Suril is a scientist, journalist and obsessive Microsoft observer. He holds an advanced degree in Biotechnology with minors in Biochemistry, Microbiology, and Molecular Biology.
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